boobs on snowboards - parents furious

[sk8norcal]

Burton “Love” Graphics Draw Hate Mail | Transworld Business

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...nowboards.wptz

In the past week, Burton has received a number of letters and phone calls about the “Love” model. The snowboards feature four different Playboy bunnies, depending on the board size. They don’t show any body parts that are traditionally kept covered, but the women are naked.

This has parents like Jeff Sprenger of Essex angry enough to pen the company a scathing letter and send it around to all of his friends.

“I think of Burton as a good Vermont company, as a good citizen,” Sprenger said. “I was pretty shocked that they would do something like that. I feel ashamed for Vermont and for Burton.” Sprenger has two children- one who snowboards- and he rides himself. He said his main problem with the Playboy board is the message it was sending to people, especially Burton’s target market of 14 to 24-year-old males. “I’m working hard to make sure my daughter gets a fair chance. This board is not going to make girls feel good,” Sprenger said.

Burton’s response to the Sprenger’s letters and to the other objections they’ve received regarding the two snowboard models is a five-sentence explanation of the genesis of the line and Burton’s founding principle of “individual freedom.”

The boards promote a “commodification of women’s bodies,” says Stephanie Kaza, the past president of the University of Vermont President’s Commission on the Status of Women. She expressed disappointment that the well-respected Vermont company would put images of naked women on its products.

“It reduces a woman to her body and that body is there for sex and sex is there for men,” Kaza said.

A number of individuals and organizations have called on Burton to pull the offensive lines from stores and offer some sort of public apology. Burton doesn’t release sales figures, but based on the brisk sales of the Coalition boards at Vermont retailers, it seems unlikely that the company will discontinue the line. Andrew, Burton’s spokeswoman, wouldn’t comment on Burton’s future plans for the line.

While Burton is getting a good deal of flack about its Coalition line, Waterbury’s Rome Snowboards has not received any negative feedback from its risque “Artifact” line. The “Artifact” boards are meant to be reminiscent of 1970s New York City strip joints, says Ryan Runke, Rome’s marketing manager. The boards feature a neon base with the words “Bend Over Babes” or “Live Nude Girls,” depending on the model. The top sheets have outlines of naked women on them.

Since there are so many companies making snowboards, the graphics are almost equally as important as the board’s technical specs, Runke says. Some area retailers like SkiRack balked at the “Artifact,” saying the graphics were pushing the limit, but the Rome is sold out of the board.

“People want something that makes a statement,” Runke said

To read the entire article, go HERE.


kids, don't click this..
http://www.libertyboardshop.com/libe...nLoveSnowboard

[Wells]

I'd like to submit my response in the form of a picture:

[sk8norcal]

yes, I like that rear... round, nicely shaped......... board....

[Dinosaur]

damn, time to go buy a new board and support the cause!

[rivers]

what a load of crap. If people dont like it, dont buy it. I find modern pop music offensive, distastefull and degrading, more so than pictures of naked bodies. so you know what I do? I dont listen to it.
simple really.

These stories about people being upset buy pictures of naked girls always seem to come from USA, whats the matter with you lot? dont you like looking at naked girls?

That Kaza woman has got real problems, its just a picture of a girl with not much on, so what? If it was a series of boards with naked men on, would she have written the same letter with concerns about her poor son and how her son is not ging to get a fair chance, or feel bad about himself?

naked chic graphics pushing the limits eh? limits of what exactly?

A graphic of a naked chic being disembowled by a wild pig, whilst strangling a baby, that might push the limits....

but those semi suggestive girl pics? come on. grow up.

[Dinosaur]

what a load of crap. If people dont like it, dont buy it. I find modern pop music offensive, distastefull and degrading, more so than pictures of naked bodies. so you know what I do? I dont listen to it.
simple really.

These stories about people being upset buy pictures of naked girls always seem to come from USA, whats the matter with you lot? dont you like looking at naked girls?

That Kaza woman has got real problems, its just a picture of a girl with not much on, so what? If it was a series of boards with naked men on, would she have written the same letter with concerns about her poor son and how her son is not ging to get a fair chance, or feel bad about himself?

naked chic graphics pushing the limits eh? limits of what exactly?

A graphic of a naked chic being disembowled by a wild pig, whilst strangling a baby, that might push the limits....

but those semi suggestive girl pics? come on. grow up.

preach it +1

[damiche]

rivers 4 president.
Yes WE CAN!

[no66q]

“People want something that makes a statement,” Runke said...

Ha ha, Runke mean to wank in Norwegian!!

Anyway, Burton late again, how many years ago did Sims bring out the Fader series with the Vivid girls?? 6 ???

[skategeezer]

as the Barenaked Ladies once sang: "it's all been done.."

[SK1ER]

This is exactly why skiing is a better sport

[sk8norcal]

hard to fit any good boob graphics on skinny skiis...

speaking of boobs, CW is probably the most conservative of all skate mags when it comes to boobiege. MB, how many ads have been turned down so far for nudity?

To be fair, I think this graphic is a bit much for public display.
Imagine you are at a ski resort, and some pimple face kid is carrying this board around...

[stringtheory]

How dare Burton let the biggest secret in the world out of the bag! Women have nipples!!! It's just crazy!

[Benito]

my neighbor owns the baseball girl model. she's a hottie fo'sho.


but seriously, I live in burlington and have to deal with the super-uptight ####s that live in Essex and the surrounding area's. These people are liberal 100% yet they're still wicked old fashioned. Last week there was a group of about 30 of them protesting in front of the Burton factory trying to ban the release of anymore of these boards. Its such bullshit. Even some local kid programs that work with burton have cut funding from the cooperation over the incident.


Since when do Babes and Boards NOT go together?!

[Benito]

oh and the new Rome artifact is an AMAZING board. "Live Nude Girls!"

[Tagsrover]

I thought those boards were pretty close to pushing the limit, but I guess if there is no nudity there really isn't thing that HAS to be done about it. I for one would never buy one of those, I'd be ashamed every time I picked it up off the ground or was sitting on a chairlift. But with how crazy and weird snowboard fashion is now a days I guess it's whatever sells right?

[sk8norcal]

ABC News: Racy Snowboards Spur Protests, Boycotts

Sprenger lives in the heart of ski country and her 14-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son and husband snowboard. Every year Sprenger visits the Web site for the Burlington, Vt.-based Burton Snowboard Co. to check out the latest equipment and gear. What she found this year shocked her. "It was just disgusting," she said.

Vance also noted that what attracts young kids often repels their parents. "What better way to sell the boards than to get a bunch of mothers and families upset by something."

And this certainly isn't the first time snowboards and suggestive images have gone together. In 2003, Sims Snowboards teamed up with the porn company Vivid Videos to create a line of boards featuring pictures of a naked Jenna Jameson and other porn stars.

And boards currently sold by Vermont-based Rome Snowboards feature the words "Live Nude Girls" and "Bend Over Babes." But the Burton company is a behemoth in the industry so its designs attract notice.

[boarders mom]

It's my own discomfort level and my problem to deal with, but it would make me uncomfortable to be in a lift line with my 7 year old wth little to look at but one of those boards. Much like someone behind me in line spouting off a lot of profanity in front of my kids, there isn't a lot I can do about it, but does that make it appropriate on their part? One could get really deep and discuss the de-evolution of our culture, but the UK kid is right, European countries are much more liberal about the body in marketing.

[neuros]

Those aren't really all that revealing....

And rivers, to comment to you, here in America, violence is okay, but sexiness is a sin and nudity should be kept to brothels and foreign countries.

[stringtheory]

Strange but true:

Most Americans have sex and swear on a regular basis, but do not murder people.

Most American T.V. has no nudity or sex or real swearing, but lots of violence and murder.

Think about it...

[damiche]

It's my own discomfort level and my problem to deal with, but it would make me uncomfortable to be in a lift line with my 7 year old wth little to look at but one of those boards. Much like someone behind me in line spouting off a lot of profanity in front of my kids, there isn't a lot I can do about it, but does that make it appropriate on their part? One could get really deep and discuss the de-evolution of our culture, but the UK kid is right, European countries are much more liberal about the body in marketing.

It's nice to have this kind of soft and mature reaction...Thanks.
European countries aren't just more liberal about the body in marketing,
they're more liberal about body representation anywhere !
Walking around Amsterdam I saw posters I won't even start to describe here.

Most of us have been exposed to nudity on tv or else at a young age,
and did not become perverts. (well, not all of us )

We try to promote values such as:
knowing your and other's body, knowing about sexuality and it's stakes.
Demonizing sex and nudity doesn't end up good in the long run
(from my point of vue and cultural background).